Effect of Integrated Weed Management Practice on Weeds and Yield of Cotton

Abstract

Weeds are one of the causes of underproduction which leads to severe losses in cotton yield due to competition and  increased production costs. This study was aimed at determining the effect of different weed management practices on  weeds and cotton yield in the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted during the 2017 and 2018  cropping seasons at Werer Agricultural Research Center and Gewane cotton commercial farm. The experiment was laid  out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments consisted of various  combinations of mechanical, cultural, and chemical control methods. These were: hand weeding + inter-culturing, pre- irrigation + hand weeding, pendimethalin + hand weeding, pre-irrigation + inter-culturing, pendimethalin + inter- culturing, pre-irrigation + pendimethalin, pre-irrigation, and control. Data on weed density and cotton yield and yield  components were recorded. Weed density, cotton boll number per plant, boll weight, and seed cotton yield were  significantly affected by weed management practices. Hand weeding + inter-culturing and pendimethalin + inter- culturing resulted in seed cotton yield of 60.74 and 64% higher than the weedy check. However, the maximum net  benefit was obtained from pendimethalin + inter-culturing followed by hand weeding + inter-culturing. Based on the  results observed, the use of pendimethalin + hand-weeding or hand-weeding + inter-culturing can be used to  economically and effectively control weeds in cotton fields of Middle Awash areas.